


discount store

by WattStalf



Series: it's just a fuckin retail au [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Retail, Boss/Employee Relationship, F/M, Workplace Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-15 02:58:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 20,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10548896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WattStalf/pseuds/WattStalf
Summary: You're not supposed to fall for your employee, especially not if:A) She's another manager's, and a close friend's, little sisterB) She's a promising transfer that you're trying to get promotedorC) You're the district managerYou're not supposed to fall for one of your employers, especially not if:A) He's the stiff store manager and your brother's friendB) He's the first manager to give you the chance you've been waiting fororC) He's the eccentric district managerAKA one ridiculous AU I probably shouldn't have written





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Listen I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing, but after two years working in a discount store and wanting to write this exact AU I feel like i finally know enough about working in one to write it.  
> disclaimer don't fucking date your employees/employers this is not advised in any workplace setting pls

“Your family is well-off enough. I don't understand why you need this job,” says Maribelle, eyeing her best friend.

“I guess I don't really  _ need it _ , need it,” replies Lissa. “But you know how it is with Chrom! He's hard-working, even though he's already a student, just because he wants to be able to make money for himself. That doesn't sound like a bad idea to me.”

“There's nothing wrong with being self-sufficient, but remember that you're a student too. If you aren't careful, your grades could slip.”

“I know, I know! I'm only going to work part-time, so no need to worry! Besides, I haven't even gotten the job yet. Chrom approved my application for an interview, but he says that's all he can do for me. Unless I do well in the interview, I won't get anything!” she says.

“Isn't the head manager a friend?” asks Maribelle.

“Yeah, but he didn't even go easy on Chrom when he got hired, and he got his promotion all on his own. Frederick is a nice guy, by he takes work very seriously.”

“Well, I wish you the best of luck, even if I still don't completely understand.”

~X~

_ “You look stressed,” says Lissa, as soon as her older brother is in the door. _

_ “That's because I am,” he replies. _

_ “Did something happen at work?” _

_ “Nothing specific. We’re just very understaffed right now. A lot of people have left to back to school, and we haven't been able to hire enough to replace them,” says Chrom. “Plus, we lost a manager and just promoted an associate to take their place. It's just hard to find good hires these days.” _

_ “You guys are really having that much trouble?” _

_ “Sure are. Frederick did mention getting a new transfer from another store, but we need at least four more employees to get us back to normal. The district manager is coming soon to check out the newly promoted manager, and I'm sure he’ll say something if we’re still understaffed.” He sighs. “Sorry for venting, I know it's probably incredibly uninteresting.” _

_ “No, no, I wanna hear it! In fact...what if I helped you?” _

_ “And just how would you do that, Lissa?” _

_ “I could go work with you!” she says. _

_ “You want to work at my store?” _

_ “Well, I've never had a job before, so I could really use the experience, and if you need help that much, then I think it would be good for both of us!” _

~X~

“Alright, Lissa, if you’ll follow me back to the office…” Frederick hasn’t changed much since the last time she saw him, but it’s been a while. She’s not been to this store often even since Chrom began working here, and the last time she actually talked to Frederick, she was in high school. He’s still just as stiff as ever, it seems.

When they’re seated in the office, he says, “I’m sure Chrom has told you all about how things work here and what to expect from your interview.”

“He told me you wouldn’t care that I’m his sister.”

He gives a polite smile and says, “Well, he’s right about that. Now, on your application, it says that you have no prior work experience. Can you tell me about any other experience that you feel might be relevant? Perhaps in a club, or at school.”

No sooner than she’s answered him with a story about a bake sale, he’s on to the next topic, asking her about her daily schedule and when she thinks she’s able to work, should she get the job. After that, he begins throwing scenarios out, asking her how she would react to them, and it’s all she can do to keep up with him.

“Finally, I’d like to know what you think you’d bring to this job. What do you feel your strength as an associate would be?”

“Customer service. I feel like that’s the most important part of the job, and I would always make sure to smile and do what I could to help!”

“That’s all I need to ask. Alright, Lissa, I’ll be in touch with you.”

The next day, she gets a call saying that, as soon as her background check clears, she can start working there.

~X~

“You came to us at a really busy time, so we’re going to have to throw you right in,” says Chrom, one of Cordelia’s new managers. “We’re trying to get some new employees to even things out, but even they need to be trained. I hope we don’t run things too differently from how they did at your store, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask!”

“I’ll do my best,” she says. “I don’t think anything is too different, but even if it is, I think I can catch on fairly quickly.”

“I’m sure you’ll do well here with that attitude. Frederick told me that he heard from your old manager that you were one of the best they had. I’m surprised they were so willing to send you to us.”

“I wanted to challenge myself, and we agreed there might be more room for growth here,” she replies. In truth, she’s not sure if she’s nearly as good as they claim. She always tries to put in more effort than those around her and is always the one called in when they need extra help, but after a few years with the company, she still hasn’t been promoted. When the chance to transfer came up, she took it, hoping that this new story will give her better opportunities for promotion.

It’s only a few hours into her shift when Chrom approaches her again. “I was going to ask if you needed help, but it looks like you’ve got everything figured out just fine. You’re doing great here. I know it’s a little early, and I probably shouldn’t say anything when Frederick hasn’t, but I feel like you’re going to be ready for management training soon.”

“You can’t mean that already,” she says, not sure what to make of his compliments. She isn’t used to being praised this much right off the bat, and to have him already bring up what she’s been hoping for…

“We don’t have any openings right now, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start getting you trained. We only recently had someone leave unexpectedly and had to promote Robin without giving her much time to prepare. If we’ve got you ready, then you could fill in if one of us had an emergency, or if someone had to leave, you’d be prepared to step up.”

“I’m open to anything,” is all she says, not wanting to press her good luck.

“Well, that’s just my thoughts. I’ll have to talk to Frederick first, of course.”

~X~

“Robin, I’m going home for the day. You can handle closing by yourself, right?”

“Chrom, I’ve closed on my own before,” she says with a laugh. “I think I’m settling in just fine.”

“Well, if you need anything, you can call me. Or Miriel. Maybe don’t call Frederick unless the store is burning down, since he’ll probably give you a hard time about anything less.”

“I know, I know. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“One more thing. You know Gangrel is coming next week, right?” he asks. Gangrel is the district manager. Robin has seen him a few times since she began working here, but he’s never bothered to speak with her directly. This will not only be the first time meeting him officially, but will also be her first evaluation as a manager.

“Frederick has grilled me extensively to prepare me,” she replies. “He says he won’t rest until I’m perfect. It’s kind of exhausting.”

“Yes, well...I’m not saying that you need to stress about it. Being yourself is the most important thing, Gangrel likes it when people are natural. But you have to understand, he has a...difficult personality. Whether he likes you or not, he can be a bit much.”

“Frederick’s warned me about that too,” she says. “I’ve seen him around, so I think I have the basic idea. I appreciate you worrying about me, but I’m sure everything is going to be just fine.”

“I just hope we can get our new employees trained in time.”

“One of them is your little sister, so I’m sure she won’t be a problem. You really don’t need to worry so much, Chrom.”

“I hope you’re right.”


	2. Chapter 2

Lissa spends the entirety of her first day on the job on a computer, watching training videos with Frederick or Miriel, one of the other managers, occasionally coming back to check on her or give her some new videos to watch. Sometimes there are quizzes at the end that are so self-explanatory that she wonders if anyone has ever actually failed them. By the time her shift is over, she never wants to stare at another screen again, and is relieved when Frederick tells her that she can begin her hands-on training during her next shift.

As she’s leaving, Chrom’s coming in for his shift, and he smiles, saying, “Too much to take in?”

“It’s not too much, it’s just exhausting,” his sister replies.

“Just wait until you’re up and running around all day,” he says with a laugh. “Sitting in front of a computer is nothing compared to running register on a Saturday.”

“I can handle it!” she says with a wave of her hand. “Have fun tonight!”

~X~

“I want you to help me get ready for Gangrel’s visit,” says Chrom. “If you have a big part in it, then you’ll impress him and having his approval will make it easier to promote you, if there’s ever an opening.”

Cordelia is surprised that Chrom is still talking about that. Any time she’s been talked to about a promotion before, the subject was treated casually and dropped quickly, and not brought up again for weeks. She never felt that anyone took it seriously, but with him, she can almost dare to hope. After being let down so many times, she knows better, but Chrom makes it hard to remember the lessons she’s learned.

The feeling is a little too reminiscent of something else, but she  _ definitely _ knows better than to think along those lines with any coworker, much less one of her managers. She starts to shake her head to snap herself out of it, then remembers that she’s talking to Chrom, so she nods instead, saying, “I’m happy to help anyway you need.”

He gives her a smile that actually makes her chest ache. “Great! Mostly I just need things straightened up, especially in the stockroom. It’s a nightmare back there, and knowing him, he’ll decide to inspect back there and, if he sees how it is, he’ll schedule us a surprise visit from  _ that _ department.”

“Anything particular you want me to do, or just do it by the book?”

“Just do it to the guidebook for now. I’ll be back whenever I can to help you out.”

She definitely shouldn’t look forward to seeing him again when it’s in the middle of her shift.

~X~

“I haven’t really talked to you in forever,” says Lissa.

“You should focus on what you’re doing,” replies Frederick. He’s been training her on the job for a few days now, and today they’re working together in the stockroom, getting clothes hung up and ready to be put on the floor.

“I know what I’m doing here now,” she says. “I can talk and work at the same time.”

“Alright, but if you make any mistakes, you’re the one who has to fix them,” he warns her. “What is there to talk about?”

“Work, life, whatever! I remember when you got this job, and I still think it’s crazy that you’re the boss now. Even when Chrom came to work here, you were still new to management,” says Lissa. At the time, she remembers teasing her brother and telling him that he only got the job because of Frederick, and Chrom replying that Frederick didn’t have any authority to hire him in the first place.

“I just worked hard, and things happened to work out so that promotions were open for me. They opened a new location, so I was given the store manager position.”

“What about Chrom?”

“Chrom is surprisingly hard-working...oh, I don’t mean because of who he is as a person, I just mean because he’s a student. It’s not often that you get an employee who works hard at work  _ and _ school, and can make their schedule work,” he says.

“And what about me?” she asks with a teasing smile.

“My opinion on you is to be determined,” he replies, teasing her back. Or, at least, she hopes that he’s teasing her back.

~X~

“Well, well, looks like your store isn’t  _ too _ much of a disaster zone today,” is the first thing Gangrel says, before laughing. Frederick winces at the sound, and Robin knows that he must be feeling torn. His shift is over soon, so he doesn’t have to deal with the district manager for long, but once he goes home, he’ll be leaving her and Chrom to fend for themselves with him.

“We’ve been doing our best to keep up today,” is all that he says.

“Yes, yes, the customers come first and all,” he says, with a roll of his eyes. “Anyway! This is the Robin I’ve heard so much about, but where’s Chrom”

“He’s just helping the stock lead get things set up for tomorrow’s truck.”

“I thought you guys were still looking for a stock lead.”

“No, that was awhile ago. We promoted someone already, you met him last time.”

Gangrel gives a blank stare.

“His name is Kellam,” Robin adds, trying to be helpful, but he still looks perplexed.

“Let’s just go back there,” Gangrel says, and starts off without waiting for them to try to catch up.

By the time they reach him, they’re just in time to hear him tell Chrom, “You’re going to go on lunch somewhere outside the store, and Frederick is going to clock out and go home. It’s just me and Robin for the next thirty minutes, and even when you get back, just let her handle things. I’ve got to see her in action, without either of you helping her out.”

“Are you sure there’s nothing else you need me to do first?” asks Frederick.

“Absolutely nothing. Sorry you don’t get to see more of me!” he teases.

Both Frederick and Chrom wish her good luck, and then Robin is suddenly left alone with Gangrel. “The stockroom looks the nicest I’ve seen it in a while. Did you have anything to do with that?”

“Actually, we have a transfer, Cordelia. She’s done a lot to help get it back to the way it’s supposed to be. She’s on register right now, if you want to-”

“I don’t. How about you take me on a walk of the store? I’ve got lots of questions for you, and I’ve got to see how you run things! After that, we’re going to go back to the office, and you’ll talk me through how you’d open and close the store. Come on, let’s get to it before Chrom gets back and tries to hold your hand through it!”

~X~

Gangrel is an exhausting man once he gets going, but Robin does what she can to keep her wits about her and not forget any of her training. She has no idea how she’s doing, but he doesn’t stop smiling the whole time, so she hopes that’s a good sign. Even she hasn’t been able to help smiling from time to time, whenever he cracks a joke, and the two of them hole up in the office, leaving Chrom with the rest of the store once he’s back from lunch.

“Robin, if I’m going to be completely honest with you, this is one of the best visits I’ve had to a store in a while. Maybe ever! You’re certainly no slouch.” He grins at her. “You know, someone as promising as you deserves a promotion.”

“I just got promoted,” she points out.

“I mean higher! If we ever manage to get rid of Frederick, you could have the whole store, and I wouldn’t stop there if I were you. I didn’t.”

“You didn’t?”

“Haven’t they told you?” he asks. “I started out as a regular part time associate, same as you did. But I didn’t want to settle for that, and I’ve been working my way up ever since. One of these days, I want the whole company. CEO and owner at the same time! Once I’m rich enough from being the CEO, I’ll buy out the company. CE-Owner!” It’s not even that funny, but it’s so not funny that she has to leave.

“And you think I should shoot for the company too?”

“Not the whole company, no, since that’s what  _ I _ want. But you could have my current job someday, or even climb a little higher. I see great things in you,” he says. “It’s just something to think about!”

After that, he takes his leave, informing Chrom that she got a perfect score. Chrom comes to congratulate her, but she’s a bit too dazed to process it. It’s only just now sinking in that Gangrel wasn’t just impressed with her; he thinks her good enough to be a bigger part of business. Robin isn’t sure what to make of all of that.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh look a new chapter  
> I've got most of this outlined so I'm not just winging it anymore

“Your shift started while Gangrel was here, didn’t it?” asks Frederick.

Lissa nods. “Yeah, it was all fine. He mostly just stuck to Robin the whole time. I was only a little bit nervous! I mean, it was my first big visit, but I think I handled myself pretty well.” She grins at him, and actually gets him to crack a smile.

“Yes, well, I’m glad you kept a cool head. You’ve been adjusting pretty well here, so I suppose I should congratulate you on that,” he says.

“So? How about your opinion of me now? Is it still ‘yet to be determined’?” she teases.

Frederick gives her a look, his usual stiff expression returning before he speaks. “You’re definitely adjusting well, I’ll give you that. And, if you want a compliment, your customer service is great.”

“Great?” She feigns shock. “Did  _ you _ just call me  _ great _ ? Someone better pinch me!”

“Do you want me to take it back?”

“Oh, don’t be such a stick in the mud, Freddy.”

“Please do  _ not _ call me that.”

“I think it’s kind of cute,” she says.

“Maybe it is, but I’m not,” he responds in a deadpan.

“Oh, I don’t know about that. I think you’re cute in your own...bland, boring, stick-up-your-butt type way.”

“And here I thought I had a hard time coming up with decent compliments.” But, once again, he cracks a smile.

“You know I’m only teasing, Freddy.”

“I’m still your boss, you know? I already told you not to call me that.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she grumbles. “You’re just no fun, is all.”

“Fortunately, that’s not what I get paid for,” he says with a tight smile, and at that, she can’t help laughing. He isn’t exactly funny, but she can tell that he’s trying to be.

~X~

Cordelia spends less of her shifts on the register or working on the floor, and more with managers- or, one manager in particular. Whenever she is scheduled to work at the same time as Chrom, he pulls her away whenever he can, to go over some of the training guides or show her some of the work he has to do. After spending so long trying to get trained for management, it’s almost surreal, getting shown the ropes all of the sudden.

But he’s always so quick to remind her that he believes in her, that he sees potential in her, and that he wants to get her promoted, if he can. She doesn’t know why he’s latched on so much when no one else has before, and she asks him as much.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” he replies. “Frederick likes you as well, and has been pushing me to do this, but I would have on my own anyway. He and I both started out at the bottom...even that damn district manager did. Robin and Miriel...everyone here started out as a part-time associate and worked really hard, so we all value that above everything. You only just transferred here, but you’ve already put in so much work. Some people take time to transition, or have a hard time where there are new people around them, but you just got right to it like it was nothing. You just have the right attitude, I guess?”

His words are so general and can’t be mistaken for flattery, or for...anything else, but they make her heart flutter all the same. She blushes, which she prays that he doesn’t notice, as she says, “Thank you for that...I’ve always tried to do my best, and I’ve always wanted to be praised for it. That might sound selfish, but…”

“No, I think I understand perfectly. Everyone wants their hard work to be acknowledged, and I think it’s a shame yours hasn’t in the past. I want to do what I can to make sure things go better for you from here on out.”

Hearing him talk to her so selflessly, so  _ nobly _ , over something as simple as a retail job, only makes it all the harder for her to deny what’s going on now. She’s made mistakes in her life, and she’s had her fair share of impossible, unattainable crushes, but this would be crossing another line entirely. Chrom has given her a chance to prove herself, and that only makes it less appropriate for her to take all of his compliments to heart and to acknowledge that he’s incredibly good-looking.

If she were to meet him anywhere else, she knows she’d have already fallen for him by now, and she isn’t going to be able to keep hiding from her feelings for him. She likes him, in a way that no employee should like their manager, and it’s far beyond her control now. Cordelia knows that she’s doomed no matter what she does, but she knows that the best course of action is to keep going as if nothing has changed.

It may hurt to be so close to him, but it’ll be better for her career and for his that she keeps her feelings to herself.

~X~

“Robin, you have a call on line one,” says a voice over the intercom. “Robin, line one.”

Sighing, she goes to pick it up, hoping that it’s not Tiki calling to say she overslept again. “Thank you for holding, this is Robin,” she says.

“Just the manager I wanted to speak to!” Despite only meeting with him once, she’d recognize Gangrel’s voice immediately, even over the phone. “You aren’t busy, are you?”

“Not at the moment.”

“Of course you aren’t! You run a tight enough ship that you can afford a few minutes on the phone!” He laughs and she has to hold the receiver away from her ear for a moment. “I wanted to talk more about your career.”

“We talked a lot about it before.”

“Yes, and nothing’s really changed, I know, but  _ hypothetically _ . You know by now that I want you following in my footsteps-”

“Even though you made that decision rather suddenly.”

“What can I say? I’m the kind of man who knows what I want! And the kind of man who isn’t afraid to go for it, I’d like to add. I haven’t told anyone else at your store about this, so keep it to yourself for about a week or so, but pretty soon, we’re holding a manager assessment program at your store. Are you familiar with those?”

She is, though she hasn’t had to go through one yet. One store hosts, and people seeking promotions are sent, while higher managers and managers from various locations come to give interviews and observe them, rating them so that they can see if they’re ready for a promotion, should one open up. Robin was promoted suddenly, due to a manager having to step down unexpectedly, so she passed that step by.

“Yes. I know Chrom has someone in mind to submit to that, so he’ll be excited.”

“Just remember to keep this between us. I’ll tell him when I tell everyone else. I want to be able to observe you more there, maybe assess you a little more,” he says. “Well, we’ll hammer out the details later. The point is, I want to see more of you so I can talk to you about what it’s like on top! I promise you won’t regret getting inside tips!”

“You know, I haven’t even talked about how  _ I _ feel about it…”

“But I think you’re interested. Am I wrong?”

She doesn’t want to come out and say that she’s interested in moving up so high; that implies wanting to move past Miriel, and then Chrom, and then Frederick, and something about surpassing those who trained her feels wrong to her. And what about when she gets into the business side of things? She doesn’t know what to expect from that, and Gangrel latched onto her so suddenly that she still hasn’t had a chance to gather her thoughts properly.

The strangest thing about it is that being able to spend more time with her odd district manager is the most appealing aspect of the whole arrangement. She thinks he’s funny, she supposes, and he isn’t nearly as hard to talk to as she expected someone from upper management to be. It is only because of that that she’s able to say, “I’ll hear you out a little more.”

“Wonderful. Don’t you worry about a thing, Robin! You can’t possibly regret reaching higher!”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For a bit now, each chapter is going to focus on each ship individually, if I follow my outline

Lissa looks at her phone to see the picture she took of her work schedule. She already knows that she's closing tonight, but she wants to see who she's working with. It's not Chrom, she knows, but she's fine with that, and she feels oddly excited as she scans through the names and checks the times they work.

When she sees that Frederick is scheduled to close that night, she smiles. A lot of people who work there warned her about how strict he was at first, not realizing that she knew him, and people often complain or claim to find him intimidating. For some reason, no one seems to like working with him much, so she supposed it must be weird that she looks forward to it. She doesn't know when that started, or why, by she enjoys working shifts with him and talking to him and teasing him.

It's only when she really starts to think about it that she realizes things are different than when she first got an interview. Even she was a little bit intimidated by him at first, and she wanted to make a good impression, but when she thinks about it now, she sees him more as the family friend he always was than her boss. There's probably nothing to think about there, but she still catches herself wondering what's changed.

Maybe nothing has changed, and maybe she’s just thinking too hard on this. Whatever the case, she finds herself more excited for her shift, knowing that Frederick is going to be working with her.

~X~

As soon as she clocks in, he’s approached her. “Lissa, how confident are you running on register?”

“I’ve done it plenty of times by myself. I’m pretty good!”

“Do you think you could handle it by yourself for a bit? Chrom had some things he couldn’t get to with Cordelia that he wanted me to handle,” he says.

She frowns and says, “You aren’t going to agree that I’m pretty good?” Goading him into complimenting her is slowly becoming one of her favorite pastimes.

“I’ll let you know what I think once I’ve actually seen you in action.”

“Fine, fine, but I don’t know how you’re going to do that if you’re training Cordelia,” she teases.

“Trust me, I’ll be able to keep an eye on you plenty.”

She laughs as he leads Cordelia to the office, but she doesn’t get the weird ache she feels once the door closes. They aren’t too busy yet, so she just hangs out behind her register, and she feels a little bit lonely. Sometimes, when things are slow, she’s able to talk to him or to another employee, but right now, there isn’t anyone.

Is it because she was looking forward to seeing Frederick so much, and now she feels let down? Maybe, but that doesn’t really explain  _ why _ she looks forward to seeing Frederick so much. He’s not really her friend right now, since they rarely have the chance to talk about anything other than work; he’s nothing more than her boss, so she really shouldn’t look forward to seeing him at all.

Eventually, customers begin filtering through her line, but by now, she’s grown so used to the pattern of ringing people up that she can have absent-minded conversation with them while still thinking about other things. It all comes so naturally to her now that she doesn’t have to think about that at all, and instead, she continues to think about Frederick. During this train of thought, she stumbles upon a vague memory from her childhood, when the age gap between them seemed so much greater and she thought he was so much cooler than she did as she grew up.

She remembers that she had quite the crush on him for a while there, something that she’s sure must have been obvious, though he never seemed to notice. He was dense, or maybe he was being polite, she isn’t sure. It was all so long ago that she barely remembers it, and she wants to laugh, remembering that she ever thought he was attractive. Except…

Except he’s good-looking, and she knows that he is. He’s clean-cut and handsome, and he’s always had a very nice face. Even in terms of their uniform, he dresses nicely, and if he were anyone else, someone she saw on the streets, she would probably spare him a few extra glances. He’s her boss, so she can’t afford to actually  _ think _ of him like that, but objectively speaking, she thinks he’s very attractive.

That does nothing to ease her odd thoughts or answer her questions about her feelings regarding the man, but she pretends like there isn’t anything else to think about. It gets busier as the night goes on, and both Frederick and Cordelia have to come join her on register to help her keep the line down, but about a half hour before closing, things slow down completely, until the store is empty and there isn’t much to do.

He sends Cordelia home early, since she’s been working so much already, and then, fifteen minutes before they close, he sends home the fitting room attendant, saying that he wants to save payroll wherever he can. It’s only he and Lissa left in the store, and she’s sure she’s only there because he isn’t supposed to be alone in the building.

“Once we close, I’ll show you how to till out registers,” he says. “That way, we can do things twice as fast.”

“Is there anything else I need to do before we close? Anything I can get done?”

“You can count the change drawer. I’m going to go get the sales report ready to send, and then I’ll be back up to help you with the tills. You did a very good job tonight.”

“What was that?” she asks.

“I said you did a very good job. We were unusually busy for a weeknight, but you handled it well.” Sighing, he shakes his head and says. “I told you, I’d keep an eye on you and let you know once I’d seen enough. You’re a very good cashier, Lissa.”

It’s not the sort of compliment to get so excited about, but any sort of compliment from Frederick means a lot, even if she does tease and goad him into giving them to her. She grins and says, “I’ll take that to heart, Freddy!”

Chuckling, he says, “What did I tell you about calling me that?”

“I bet you secretly like it! It must be nice, having a nickname.”

Frederick shakes his head and says, “I’m going to go send the sales report now, so start counting down the change drawer. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Lissa likes closing on nights like this, when there’s no one in the store for a while, so they don’t have to usher anyone out at the last minute and so that they have plenty of time to get the store cleaned up without distraction. They’re able to get out of there as soon as they have the registers tilled out and the money locked up in the safe, unlike on busier nights when they have to do everything after the store closes, and don’t get to that step until a good half hour after they closed.

She likes easy closing shifts a lot, but she decides she likes them even more when it’s just her and Frederick.


	5. Chapter 5

“The manager assessment program is coming up in about a month,” says Chrom. “I just found out from Gangrel yesterday. I know some of you might be interested, so if you are, please talk to Frederick about getting ready for that.”

He goes on to explain what it is, and then talks about the other topics for the morning meeting, and then dismisses everyone to get back to whatever they're doing. It's time for Cordelia’s break, since she's been there working on truck for a while, but Chrom calls out to her before she can walk away.

“Hey, can you come meet me in the office after your break?” he asks. “I want to talk to you in more detail about the assessment.”

Talking to Chrom one on one is becoming more and more difficult for her as she realizes just how much of a crush she has on him. She knows that she _can't_ have a crush on her manager, and that if she _does_ , she needs to do what she can to avoid him, rather than taking every opportunity she gets to spend time with him. If she were smarter, she'd probably turn him down, except that would be awful for her potential growth. Really, if she had any sense at all, she wouldn't like him this much in the first place, and being alone with him wouldn't be a problem.

Whatever the case, she can't ever _really_ turn him down, not when she's getting so close to her goal, and throughout her break, she feels both nervous and excited. She wonders what they're going to talk about and what the assessment has in store for her, but she also can't help wondering how she can impress Chrom in the meantime. It's far from the first time she's wanted to impress a manager, but it's the first time she's had ulterior motives.

_As if I could get him to fall for me just because of my work performance_ , she thinks with a sigh. _As if he would fall for someone like me anyway…_

She cuts her break a few minutes short just because she wants to meet with him, and she knocks on the office door. Chrom opens it and lets her in, saying, “What's left to do back there?”

“Sully and Stahl are putting home out, Ricken is processing shoes, and Nowi and I are working on clothes,” she says, before letting him know how many boxes are left of each thing.

“So we aren't doing too badly. Still, I don't want to pull you away for too long,” he says. “We've got most of your training out of the way, and I wanted to get it finished as quickly as possible, so you have time to review and we have time to focus on anyone else who wants to get trained for the assessment.”

“What's left for me to do?” she asks.

“Well, you've done pretty much all of the hands-on stuff. What you need to focus on now are training videos, but it won't be like when you first got hired,” he says, before picking up a tablet off the desk. “Instead of making you stay back with the computer, you can take this with you and watch videos while you're hanging clothes, or if you're on fitting room or register and it's really slow, you can watch them then.”

Taking the tablet, she unlocks it to see a login screen, and puts in her employee codes. It takes her directly to a list of videos, and she says, “Everything seems to be working fine.”

“Alright, then you should probably get back there. Do you have any questions before I let you go?”

She shouldn't want to draw out their time together, but she nods anyway. “What should I expect from the assessment? How much should I prepare for it?”

“If you just keep doing like you are now, I think you'll be fine. There are going to be a couple interviews with managers from other stores, and one with Gangrel, and then some tests and observations,” he says. “It’s really nothing to worry about. I did it before I got promoted, and it was pretty easy. Even if you don’t meet their standards this time, there’s going to be one again next quarter, but I don’t really think that’s going to be a problem for you.”

“Thank you for helping me so much,” she says.

“I’m always here to help whenever you need anything,” he replies. “Listen, there’s one more thing. I probably shouldn’t say this, but...the store managers interviewing you are going to remember you if they like you, which means, if their store has an opening, you might be considered to transfer for a promotion. I want you to do your best and impress them, but...if I had it my way, we’d keep you here and get you promoted here. I’m sure Frederick feels the same way, but I don’t want to hold you back or make you think you have to stay here forever.”

“I’d like to stay here,” she confesses. “I’ve really enjoyed it at this location, more than I did at my old store.”

“I’m so glad to hear that! Listen, you just do what you think is best for your career. Right now, it’s all hypothetical anyway. Just something for you to think about. Anyway, I’ve kept you back here for way too long, so you should probably get back out there.”

Cordelia nods and says, “Thank you,” one last time before she leaves the office. For a moment, she feels like she’s walking on air, thinking about the way he looked at her when he said he didn’t want her to go anyway else, and she gets caught up in a fantasy of him saying something like that in an entirely different context. But, by the time she’s reached the stockroom and set up the tablet where she can see it while she hangs clothes, she’s come back down to earth.

Now is not the time to let herself get distracted by Chrom, not with the assessment coming up. It’s true that she’s more productive when she trains under any of the other managers, since none of them distract her like he does, but she can’t afford to let her performance slip at all now. She also knows that, if she were to have an opportunity at another store, she should take it. Chrom is not enough of a reason to stay at this location, and a hopeless, unrequited crush is not and never will be worth sacrificing her career for.

Knowing that, she does what she can to snap herself out of her delusions and focus on the videos, committing as much of it to memory as she can. Next to her, Nowi cracks jokes whenever the scenarios or the acting in the videos get a little cheesy- which is often- and that helps her take her mind off things as well. Cordelia has to get over this stupid crush before the assessment, she thinks, so that she can do her best without worrying about what Chrom thinks about her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayo a robin chapter

Gangrel doesn't stop calling Robin, and every time an employee pages her about a call, or comes to her with a nervous expression- everyone can recognize his voice over the phone by now, it seems. She doesn't know how he always knows when she's working, at first, but later, she finds out that he calls and asks for her specifically, even when she isn't there.

“Your secret admirer was asking for you again,” says Frederick one day.

“Hey, Robin, is there a reason Gangrel called for you today?” asks Chrom at one point.

“I hope the district manager has a good reason for calling,” says Miriel. “At least, I hope you haven't caught his eye in a bad way.”

Robin doesn't really know what to say to them, since she knows Gangrel doesn't want them to know that he thinks she's got more potential than them, and she wouldn't want to tell them that anyway, especially since she isn't sure that that's true. It's a bit of a nuisance, getting called while she's working and having to try to skirt around the subject when she's asked about his interest in her. She's never had to cover something like this, and it feels strange, like she's hiding an affair or something, though as soon as she imagines having an affair with Gangrel, she's quick to banish those thoughts.

“Have you ever done a job interview?” he asks.

“How do you think I got hired here?” she replies, even though she knows what he means.

“One of my favorite things about you is your sense of humor! Now, how about you give me a real answer?”

“Not yet, no. Frederick does most of them, and Chrom has done a few, Miriel had sat in with them before, but they've not had me do one,” she says.

“Well, how on earth are you going to learn how to hire people at that rate? I wanted to talk to you about your hiring process, but I guess that conversation is a dead end. I'm going to have to talk to Frederick about this,” says Gangrel and she can practically see the way he rolls his eyes.

“I'm sure I have a pretty good idea of how the interview process works.”

“Then why don't you tell me what you'd do if you were giving an interview?”

“First I'm supposed to ask about their availability and see if they can work when we need them to. After that, I ask about previous work experience. If they've got stuff listed on their application, I can talk to them about what they did there, and if they've got nothing, we can talk about anything they feel might be relevant,” she says. “Then we've got a list of scenarios to ask about, and general questions, and I take notes on everything they say so that I can talk it over with the other managers and call them back.”

“Would you ever hire anyone on the spot?”

“Only if I wasn't giving the interview alone and we were in agreement.”

“What sort of things would you look for in an applicant? And I don't mean the stuff everyone looks for, I mean looking between the lines! Behind the pretty answers!”

“Well, I…” That actually takes a bit more thought from her. “Body language is important, for judging honesty and picking up on behavior patterns. And I would want to hear their flaws as a worker too, because if I'm thinking about hiring someone, I need to know what they can and can't do, and where I could place them.”

“Both excellent answers, especially the body language one. Back when I was part-time, if I saw someone going in for an interview, I always decided based on their face if they were going to be good or not, and I was never wrong!” He cackles. “My managers would regret hiring someone, but I could have told them at first sight.”

“I'm not sure if that's something you should brag about or not.”

“What did you do before you worked here?” he asks, changing the subject suddenly and completely.

It gets to a point where Gangrel calls her and asks her more questions that become less and less relevant to her job.

~X~

“It's pretty slow tonight, huh?” asks Robin. “I'm sorry I can't get the tablet to connect. I tried the markdown guns, and they won't connect to anything either! There's gotta be a problem with the internet…”

“Do you think it'll be fixed soon?” asks Cordelia.

“I'll talk to Frederick about it. Hopefully it's soon, since we've got a bunch of markdowns on Monday.” Sighing, Robin says, “I don't really have anything else for you to do tonight, so I guess just keep the front end cleaned up, and keep ringing if we get anymore customers.”

Robin doesn’t really have much to do either, so she hangs around up front, making light conversation with Cordelia. “You don’t need to get out of here early, do you?”

“No, not at all.”

“Alright, cos it’s looking like I might be able to send someone home early, and I know Gaius has some really late plans with his girlfriend, so I was thinking about letting him out of here.”

“That’s fine by me!”

“You’re not dating anyone, are you?” she asks. “Sorry, that’s a really personal question! And I kind of phrased it bad, I meant to just as if you are or not.”

Cordelia laughs and says, “No, I know what you mean. And you’d be right to if you assumed that I’m single.”

“Just focusing on your career?” asks Robin.

“That, and...well, let's just say I tend to fall for unattainable guys.”

“Unattainable, how? You're gorgeous and I bet anyone would think you were interesting!” She has a hard time imagining someone Cordelia would find unattainable. When Robin tries to imagine “unattainable”, she can only think of co-workers, or something to that extent, but she wonders if that just means she's always got work on the brain.

“Well, I…” While the other woman is trying to find the right words, the phone rings, interrupting them.

“Why do I have a bad feeling I know who that is?” Robin mutters, before picking it up and saying, “Hello?”

“Why, if it isn't my favorite future company vice president!”

“Hello, Gangrel. Let me put you on hold for a second, so I can go back to the office.” When he's on hold, she apologizes to Cordelia for having to interrupt their conversation and heads to the back. All the while, she can't get the topic out of her mind, particularly her own idea of an unattainable man.

“How's your night going?” asks Gangrel.

“We aren't busy,” she replies. She's suddenly reminded of the fact that she feels like she's hiding an affair where he's concerned, and catches herself thinking about how unattainable he would be to her.

“That's nice, but how about you? How are you doing?”

He's a flirt, she knows, but over half of what he says can't be taken seriously, so she's never assumed he was genuinely flirting with her. The man isn't just her boss, he's her boss’s boss, and he sees herself as her mentor. Of course, she doesn't know why she's even imagining such a ridiculous hypothetical, but pursuing someone like him would be incredibly stupid, and he is the very definition of unattainable.

“I'm doing alright.”

“Only alright? Well, maybe I can make it better!”

“And just how do you plan to do that?” she asks. Sometimes it's hard not to flirt back, but she's sure he knows she's just playing along. She wouldn't go after him and he knows that, and understands that they have a strictly professional relationship.

“I wanted to talk to you more about the manager assessment coming up, but talking to you over the phone just gets in the way of your workday,” he says. “How would you like to go get dinner with me sometime?”

Well. This is certainly an unusual development.


	7. Chapter 7

“Maribelle! Hey, Maribelle!”

“Oh, here we go again,” says Maribelle, her voice sounding irritated. Her face, on the other hand…

“You’re smiling,” says Lissa.

“I am  _ not _ ! Honestly, we had  _ one _ class together, and ever since then, I haven’t been able to-”

Before she can finish her sentence, the young man who has been flagging her down- Vaike- finally catches up to them. He grins and her expression shifts to one of annoyance, to match her tone of voice.

“What do you want?” she asks.

“Same thing as always! Are you free this weekend?”

“Even if I am, I don’t see how that concerns you.” Lissa has a hard time not laughing as she watches her friend attempt to give him the cold shoulder.

“You know what I want, Mari! You never know if you never try, right?” He smirks, leaning a bit closer, and she pulls back.

“I have a fairly good idea.”

“Just think about it, okay? I know you got my number. You can call me any time,” he says.

“Oh? You aren’t sticking around to bug me today?” She raises a brow.

“What? Sad to see me go?” he teases. “I got a class to get to, or else I could bug you all day!”

“How very charming.”

“Anyway, catch ya later!” He waves goodbye as he runs off, and Maribelle smirks to herself.

“I don’t know what I did wrong to be cursed with such a follower,” she says.

“You’re smiling again,” replies Lissa. “If you like him, you should just say yes! Unless you like how much he chases you, but even then…it’s gotta get old eventually. Just go for it!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” is all Maribelle says, though she isn’t able to wipe the smile off her face, and Lissa knows that she must be right.

“You’ve always been really popular,” she says. “I’m a little jealous! Back in high school, you had guys asking you out left and right, remember?”

“There’s nothing to be jealous of. The attention can be exhausting, and besides, you were more popular than you realized. If you went after someone, I’m sure anyone would fall for you,” her friend says. “You’ve just never seemed all that interested in anyone.”

“Yeah, well…” Lissa pauses, wondering if she should come out and say it, when she isn’t even sure herself. “I think I might  _ maybe _ like someone.”

“Oh? And who is  _ maybe _ the lucky guy?”

She’s been thinking about it more and more frequently lately, but she hasn’t come out and said it, or even decided for herself if it’s true. Saying it seems like it’ll make it real, but, then again, if she’s already thinking along those lines, then maybe it’s already real. She looks forward to working with him more than she should, and enjoys the time they spend together as more than an employee or old friend.

“Frederick,” she finally says.

“Frederick?”

“Yes.”

“As in...the manager, Frederick?”

“Yeah!”

“As in, the  _ head _ manager, Frederick? Your  _ boss _ ?”

“The one and only!”

“Lissa, darling, you know I only say this with love,” says Maribelle. “You’re an idiot.”

Lissa’s smile only holds up for a moment before she sighs and hangs her head. “Yeah, I know, I know. He’s my boss, it’s unprofessional, and all that. I’ve thought about that too, and it’s not like I  _ wanted _ to like him. I liked him when I was younger, and I guess it just kinda came back.”

“As I said before, I’m sure anyone would fall for you. It’s not that I think it’s necessarily hopeless for you, I’m just not sure if he would go for it even if he returned your feelings,” she says. “Not to mention, even if he did, wouldn’t it be difficult to date?”

“I know! You don’t have to tell me twice. I don’t really know what I’m going to do about it,” says Lissa. “I just figured I’d tell  _ you _ , since I haven’t told anyone yet.”

“Well, regardless of what you choose to do, you have my support. If you think you’d be happiest trying to win him over, then I think that’s what you should do, though I would definitely consider leaving your job, in that case.”

“Thanks for the advice. I’ll let you know if anything happens!” she says. “Just make sure you tell me what happens with you and Vaike!”

“Wh-  _ nothing _ is going to happen between me and that- that-”

“Good luck!”

~X~

So she likes Frederick. She supposes she should have seen it coming from the beginning, but it’s been all too obvious lately. The only thing keeping her from realizing it was her own stubborn denial, and now that that’s out of the way, she can see just when it started- when she noticed how attractive he’d become- and when it really began to pick up- the night they closed together.

Now, working with him excites her even more than before, and despite knowing the absolute hopeless of wanting to date her boss, she already has a feeling that this isn’t something she’s going to give up on. It’s the first time she’s felt seriously interested in someone, and she wonders what to do about that. She wonders if she should just go for it, just reach out and grab him, so to speak. It does seem like that might be the only way to get her to notice him as anything more than an employee, since her flirting all seems to go completely over his head.

She did always tease him a lot, so maybe it doesn’t seem any different to him, and, truth be told, she doesn’t know any other way to flirt. Being blunt would, at the very least, get her point across, but, depending on what his response would be, it has the potential to be disastrous. They do still work together, and he could reject her for any number of reasons, making it very difficult to work together in the future.

_ So maybe I should just quit _ , she thinks, but that doesn’t really help either. If she quits, then she’ll lose the one place she gets to see Frederick regularly, and even if she does, it doesn’t guarantee that he’ll agree to go out with her. And if he rejects her  _ then _ , then she gave up a job she enjoys for nothing.

No matter how she thinks about it, she feels stuck. When she doesn’t think too hard on things, she gets giddy before a shift with Frederick, but when she allows herself to actually consider her situation, it’s just frustrating. If only there were some way to figure out what he thought of her.

She knows it would be easier to just quit while she’s ahead, but she can’t bring herself to do that, nor can she get him out of her thoughts.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was supposed to be short but i think it's the longest so far

Cordelia never knows what to do with herself on her days off. She’s always thrown herself so far into her job that there isn’t room for much else, but now that she has something else to make her want to go to work even more, offtime becomes even more restless. Her apartment is always nearly spotless, because the only thing she can think of to keep her occupied is cleaning it.

That’s where she finds herself on one of her days off, a week before the manager assessment. She’s long since finished all her training and has been putting what she’s learned into practice and working alongside the managers, with them mostly there to make sure she doesn’t make any major mistakes- but she seldom does.

Chrom tells her again and again that she’s going to do so great at the assessment, and she tries not to take those compliments to heart, no matter how much she may appreciate them. After all, even Frederick praises her for her hard work, and even though she knows that compliments are rare from him, they don’t excite her nearly as much. It’s so silly of her to keep getting excited over every little thing Chrom says to her, and it’s silly of her to have it this bad for him.

She’s still kicking herself over her conversation with Robin, and the way she came so close to hinting who she was interested in. It would have been much easier to just agree with her, to say that she was focusing on her career for the time being. She still doesn’t know why she didn’t just say that, why she started to talk about her interest in somebody completely unattainable.

Cordelia is still grateful that the phone rang when it did, interrupting her before she could say something completely stupid. She doesn’t know why the oddball district manager calls Robin nearly constantly nowadays, and she expects to hear his voice whenever she picks up the phone, but she’s glad that he chose to do so at that particular moment.

The problem is that cleaning isn’t helping to take her mind off things anymore, and she realizes that she’s been thinking about Chrom and her hopeless crush on him this entire time. It follows her around outside of work, making it hard for her to focus on her everyday life, making each day that she doesn’t see him pass by slowly, in some sort of fog. She’s so far beyond doomed that she doesn’t know what to do with herself anymore.

It’s just before dinner, when she’s finishing up dusting, that her phone rings, snapping her out of a ridiculous daydream involving her, Chrom, and an impromptu beach vacation. She picks it up absentmindedly and says, “Hello?”

At first, she thinks she’s still daydreaming when she hears Chrom respond. “Cordelia?” But what he says next assures her that she’s still within reality. “I’m really sorry to bother you on your day off, but we had someone call in at the last second ad we are  _ really _ slammed tonight. I’ve got Sully staying a little late, but she’s close to overtime, so I was wondering if you wanted to pick up some hours tonight.”

“What time do you need me there?” she asks, because she seems to only be capable of focusing at her job, and because she needs to get out of the house anyway, and because she could never say no to Chrom. And because, as stupid as it may be, she really wants to see him right now.

“Whenever you can make it in. We’re sending Sully home in about thirty minutes, but you don’t need to rush,” he says. “I can cover register for as long as you need to get here.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be there,” is all she says. After he thanks her so profusely that it makes her heart flutter, she hangs up and runs to her room, changing into her uniform in nearly record time. She regrets not putting on makeup that morning, but she knows that getting there is more important than how she looks when she does, and all she does is wash her face, hoping that she isn’t too dirty after all the cleaning.

Before she leaves, she has just enough time to hastily throw together some sandwiches and pack her lunchbox, eating one of them in the car. She had just been about to cook herself dinner, and it won’t do for her to pass out on the job. The whole time she rushes, she feels a strange sort of nervous excitement, knowing that she’s rushing to meet Chrom, that he called her and asked for her help.

Maybe it’s just the weather, the lingering warmth from summer and the leaves only just starting to change, adding to the haze she’s in as she drives to work, but all in all, she knows that the biggest contributing factor is that she’s going to see Chrom, that, even though she knows it isn’t, it feels romantic, hurrying like this. She pulls into the parking lot with just a few minutes to spare- he told her it didn’t matter, but she had to be there on time- and she takes only a few seconds to compose herself before she goes inside.

Chrom is standing by Sully’s register, probably telling her she can head out, and he sees her as soon as she’s through the door and he  _ smiles _ at her. Cordelia knows that rushing was more than worth it, and she quickly walks back to the break room to put her lunchbox away, and clocks in just in time. She didn’t have anything to gain by being on time for an imaginary deadline, but she feels like she’s achieved something special.

~X~

It’s such a busy night that she doesn’t have much chance to see Chrom, other than when he comes to ring up customers as well or to cover her break, but when they finally close, he helps her get the registers tidied up while the others clean up the rest of the store.

“Thanks again for coming in tonight,” he says. “I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”

“No, it was no problem,” she replies. “I wasn’t really doing anything.”

“Well, I still appreciate it. You really saved the day.”

“Thank you…”

“So, now that you’ve finished up training, do you think you’re ready for the assessment?” he asks, changing the subject.

“I’m a little bit nervous,” she confesses, “but I’m not too worried.”

“You don’t have anything  _ to _ worry about,” he replies. “You’re way more experienced now than I was when I went through it, and I did pretty good for myself. I think it’ll be a breeze for you.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Have you thought anymore about transferring?” asks Chrom. “I mean, do you still think you wouldn’t transfer for a promotion? I feel kind of bad for saying we want you to stay, I really don’t want you to think you have to.”

It’s so hard for her not to tell him that she doesn’t want to work at another store because  _ he _ won’t be there, but she knows it’s unprofessional, she knows that she’s holding herself back, and she’s even a little bit angry at herself for thinking along those lines. All she says is, “I really like it here. I’m not sure if I would enjoy working somewhere else as much, and if I’m going to go into management someday, I want it to be somewhere that I’m comfortable.”

“I’m glad to hear that you’re so happy here. I thought I might have been overwhelming at first, since I latched onto you so quickly. To be honest, I don’t really know what came over me. I helped Robin get promoted in the past, but this is the first time I’ve been so excited about,” he says, sounding more like he’s talking to himself for a moment.

“You’ve been more supportive of me than...anyone,” she says, and she should stop herself before she goes on, but she doesn’t. “Part of the reason I don’t want to go anywhere is because  _ you _ have made me feel so welcome here, and made me feel like I could do anything I set my mind to.”

Is it her imagination, or is Chrom really blushing? “You know you could do anything you set your mind to,” he says. “Everything you’ve been able to do is because you work hard at it.”

“I still think you deserve some of the credit.”

“And I think you might give me too much credit.”

They both seem to realize that they’ve distracted themselves from the task at hand, and both must decide at the same time to empty the drawer of security devices under her register. At least, they both reach for it at the same time, and, like something out of a bad movie, their hands brush, and she swears her heart stops for a second.

Panicked, she looks up at him, and he looks at her, and it’s only a few seconds, but the two of them just look at each other, and she isn’t sure if it feels longer, or if it’s over too quickly. Their hands pull back quickly, in almost perfect unison, and he looks away, so she does the same.

“Do you...have it covered up here?” he asks. “I need to...I need to check on the rest of the store and send the sales report.”

“Yeah, I...I can handle it, I’ll get everything done up here,” she says. As he hurries off, she’s honestly impressed with herself, knowing that she didn’t have a heart attack when their hands touched, but it’s going to be hard after this, trying not to get her hopes up and reminding herself that that didn’t mean anything.


	9. Chapter 9

She probably shouldn’t have accepted his invitation to dinner, but once she realized he was being completely serious in asking her, she couldn’t help saying yes. He claims that it’s all strictly business, anyway, so if he says it’s alright, then she doesn’t have anything to worry about. At least, that’s what Robin tells herself, but nothing changes the fact that she’s going out to dinner with her district manager.

“I’m paying, of course,” is the first thing he says when they meet up. She had been a little nervous, since he suggested a nicer place- though it was close enough to her house that she walked there- but to hear him come out and say that is a little much.

“There’s really no need,” she says.

“What kind of gentleman would I be if I made a lady pay for her own dinner?” asks Gangrel. “Plus, we both already know I make more than you, so you might as well let me have this!”

He’s the only person she knows who would openly brag about that without a hint of guilt, and she knows that she should feel insulted, but instead, she just laughs. “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.”

As dinner commences, he rambles on about topics they’ve discussed again and again, saying the same things about her career that she’s heard from him a million times, and she wonders what the point of this was, if he’s not discussing anything new. Yet she finds she’s still enjoying herself; it’s been a while since she’s seen Gangrel in person, even though they’ve talked over the phone so much that he almost feels like an old friend.

“I’m going to come to your store pretty soon,” he says. “Is everyone properly panicked?”

“I don’t know about everyone,” she replies. “I know Frederick is stressing himself as always, but Chrom is too excited about one of the candidates to think about anything else. Miriel is...herself.”

“And what about you?”

“You call me nearly daily,” she says. “I don’t think I could get nervous about seeing you if I tried.”

“I’m not sure if I’m flattered or wounded! On the one hand, not being nervous and being excited to see me are just one step apart, but on the other hand, I might like it if your heart got all aflutter before I came to the store.”

She doesn't mean to blush at his words, and she hopes that he doesn't notice it when she does. “Is there anything you should warn be about before the big day?”

“I don't think there's anything you should worry about. The others might scrutinize you and watch you more closely than they will your fellow managers, but that's just because you never had a proper assessment,” he says. “But that doesn't mean anything. If you perform like you always do, you'll impress them, and, at the end of the day, I'm more your boss than any of them! You've got me and Frederick backing you, so everything is fine.”

“I...thank you. Is there any advice I should pass on to our employees?” She's always quick to move the subject along, before they can linger on anything.

“Nope! No ruining the surprises! They've got to do this on their own, of course.”

“Well, if it's anything like you've described to me, I doubt they'll have any problems.”

“If they were trained by you, they won't!” He grins at her and once again, she blushes.

“I only did some of the training. I mean, there's only three of them, so even if we split it up evenly, there isn't much for one person to do.” Now she's mumbling and she mentally scolds herself for behaving like this.

“You know what I mean. You  _ could _ just let me flatter you every now and then.”

“As far as I know, you seem to flatter me a lot.”

“What can I say? I like to flatter you,” he replies, and Robin is quick to change the subject again. She’s sure that Gangrel notices, but she doesn’t know what else to do in this situation. Perhaps she should have thought twice about this dinner, or perhaps she should stop thinking so much right now.

She already knows that he’s a flirt and that he likes to tease, and she’s already decided that it doesn’t mean anything. The fact that she’s letting this conversation get to her means that she must have let herself forget that, and she continues to try to remind herself as the night goes on. If she doesn’t worry about their conversations meaning anything, dinner with Gangrel is actually fairly nice, and even when his jokes are stupid, she always finds herself laughing. Robin doesn’t have a lot of chances to get out, so it’s a pleasant change of pace.

“What’s the stupidest thing you said during your job interview?” he asks.

“I’m not sure if I remember,” she lies.

“Come on, even I remember mine. That’s not something you forget. Let’s hear it!”

Sighing, she says, “Ugh, alright...listen, Frederick can be really intimidating, and he was staring me down, giving me hardly any time to think about questions. So, he asks me what I did at my last job and I just kinda...blanked.”

“And what did you say?”

“I said, ‘I worked there.’”

A large grin spreads across Gangrel’s face and he seems to be holding back laughter as he says, “And what did  _ he _ say?”

“‘Well, I should hope so.’ And he said it in that...you know, that  _ Frederick _ way, with that really fake smile and that dull tone of voice.” She shakes her head as she remembers it, and he bursts out laughing so loudly that people at nearby tables glance over.

“That is one of the most Frederick things I’ve ever heard!”

“So, what’s yours?” she asks, her expression turning to a smirk.

“Excuse me?”

“You said you still remember the stupidest thing you said in an interview. I told you mine, so let’s hear yours.”

“They asked me what kind of store I was applying for, and when I said that it was a discount store- which was stupidly obvious enough on it’s own- they asked me to explain what that mean. So I say something along the lines of, ‘Well, it’s where people can buy clothes and stuff, and pay lower prices than other places, but they’re still real brands, they’re not, like, gross, or anything.’”

“They’re not gross, huh?”

“I was very young then!” he protests, but when she dissolves into laughter, he joins her. “It really takes me back. Any time I go on a visit to a store, it takes me right back to when I started. Maybe that’s why I like talking with you so much. You remind me of back when I was first starting to move up in the world.”

He looks at her with a softer expression for a moment, one that she hardly recognizes, but, in an instant, he’s back to his old self, and begins telling her more funny stories from his early career days. The dinner passes in a flash, and when it’s time to leave, he stops her outside the restaurant.

“You walked here, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I live pretty close.”

“Then why don’t you let me drive you home?” he asks.

“I told you, I live close. It’s not a big deal.”

“It’s getting awfully late for you to be walking by yourself. Besides, if you live so close, then it won’t be any problem for me to drive you.” Robin tries to argue further, but Gangrel will hear none of it, and she decides it will be easier just to go along with it. She gives him directions to her home, and soon enough, they’re parked outside her house.

Gangrel kisses her like it’s something scripted, and she kisses him back like she’s following the exact same script. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she’s telling herself that this is exactly what she was afraid of, but it doesn’t come close to stopping her. When she finally comes to her senses, she finds his hands in her hand and her arms around his neck, and she pulls back.

“This is  _ highly _ unprofessional,” he murmurs.

“We could...pretend that never happened?” she asks, her voice sounding unsteady.

His eyes darken and he presses his forehead against hers. “Now, why would I want to do that?”

She kisses him this time, and he bites her lip, and she gets as close to him as she can while they’re still stuck in their respective seats.

“So, is this the part where you invite me in?” he asks, pulling out of the kiss.

“I shouldn't,” she says.

“You really shouldn't,” he agrees.

“You already know I'm going to anyway.”

Gangrel gives her a wicked smirk she knows she’s going to become all too familiar with. “Of course I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> o SH it


	10. Chapter 10

Lissa continues to trouble herself over her feelings for Frederick, but does her best to act like nothing has changed on the surface. But she figures it probably wouldn’t matter even if she were being obvious, because the manager assessment is growing closer and closer, and he’s stressing himself out over it so much that he seems oblivious to most things that go on around him. Any attempts to talk to him about anything that isn’t directly related to making the store look absolutely flawless are met with vague grunts of acknowledgement.

She feels bad, seeing him so worried about it, though Chrom assures her that he’s always like this before an assessment, and things always go just fine. They have one of the best stores in the district, so most stores tend to look to them for an example. Of course, that just means Frederick worries more and more about living up to the lofty standards he’s set.

Lissa tries speaking to him directly about his worries, asking him if there’s anything she can do to help, and he replies, “Perhaps tonight, but there’s so much to get done, and every night, we have to try to set the store back up to look like it’s never been shopped in before. Even if you get everything cleaned up tonight, which isn’t likely, it’ll just be a mess tomorrow.”

“But every little bit helps, right?”

“I guess you could say that, but...it really is only a little bit. We’re always so busy, and most of our best employees are finishing up their training, so it’s hard to give the store itself the attention it needs,” he says.

“Just tell me what I need to do, and I’ll do my best!” She just wants to cheer him up a little bit, but nothing she says seems to be working.

“I have a list of things, if you’d like a copy,” he replies. Honestly, she didn’t expect him to be so forthcoming, so she hopes that she’s able to get some things done, and that knowing she’s working hard will ease his mind, at least a little bit.

By the end of her shift, however, she’s thinking along very different lines. After running herself ragged, trying to get to things on the list only to be called away to cover breaks or back up someone on register and returning to find things a mess again, she can see why Frederick looks so stressed all the time. She doesn’t accomplish much, but what she does, she’s almost certain it will end up undone before the big day.

Frederick lets them all go home, looking just as stressed as ever, and Lissa doesn't know what she's going to do now. That was her last shift before the day of the assessment, so there's really nothing more she  _ can _ do, unless she gets called in to help one day. At least, that’s what she thinks at first, but as she drives home, stressing herself over the predicament, she comes up with another potential solution.

~X~

She comes in claiming to be shopping for something, and keeps to herself and as much out of the sight of other employees as she can, checking the list from time to time. There’s only so much she can do without looking suspicious, but as long as no one sees her- as long as  _ Frederick _ doesn’t see her- then she can get some things on the list done. The next morning, the assessment will happen- she’s going to be running on register while everyone else is busy- so there won’t be another chance for all of this to get done. She’s going to do whatever she can to help tonight, even if she isn’t actually supposed to be working.

It’s a long process, especially with other customers trying to shop around her and while trying to avoid getting caught, but by the time the store is ready to close and she hears Frederick make the announcement, she thinks she’s done a pretty good job. Before she leaves, she decides to see if he’s waiting up front. Now that the job is already done, he can’t very well stop her from doing it, and she can’t wait to see his reaction when he finds out.

“Lissa? You’re still here?” He seems surprised. “I heard you were shopping here earlier, but I figured you would have already gone home.”

“Actually, I did a little more than shop,” she replies with a wink.

“What do you mean?”

“Why don’t you come look at the store with me?”

“This better not be some kind of prank,” he mutters. “We have to close up in ten minutes, so let’s be quick about this.”

“Don’t worry, it won’t take long!” She’s excited to show him everything she’s done, but as soon as he looks at the accessories and sees that there isn’t an item out of place, he speaks to her, not sounding happy with her at all.

“Don’t tell me you came in to work on that list I gave you?” he asks.

“Of course I did! I mean, the assessment is tomorrow, and you were so worried about things, so I wanted to help as much as I could.”

“Lissa, do you have any idea how much trouble I could get you in for this?”

“Huh?” She blinks.

“You should remember it from your training. You absolutely can’t work off the clock, for any reason! We can’t pay you for that, and you can’t work without getting paid,” he says. “If you were caught doing that by someone higher up than me, I would get in trouble if you didn’t.”

“But...I didn’t…”

“You didn’t think about that, did you?” He sighs. “I don’t want to be upset with you, but as your boss...I can’t just let something like this slide. Unfortunately, since you  _ aren’t _ on the clock right now, I can’t just bring you back to the office to talk about this, but we will be discussing this further after the assessment. I’ll decide then if I’m going to write you up for this.”

“But, Frederick!” Lissa can’t believe this. “I did all of this for you! I wanted to help you so you would feel better! Aren’t you the least bit grateful?”

“It isn’t about whether or not I’m grateful. This is about you breaking the rules, and even if you had good intentions, I can’t just overlook-”

“I can’t believe this!” She throws her hands up. “I keep trying to get closer to you, and all you do is complain about the assessment and how much needs to be done, so I try to do stuff for you, and then you just get mad at me! Do you hate me or something?”

“No, I don’t, I-”

“Because it seems like you do! All I want is for you to just  _ like _ me already, cos I like you so much, but you’re just...just…” She trails off as she realizes what it is that she’s said. Without meaning to, she’s just admitted to what’s really going on, and though she can hope that he’ll interpret “like” differently, the look on his face tells her that that isn’t going to happen.

“Lissa…”

“Forget I said anything,” she mumbles, pushing past him. He follows her, but since he won’t run in the store, she’s able to keep ahead of him and get outside before he catches up to her.


	11. Chapter 11

Working has been strange for Cordelia ever since the night she went in to get extra hours. She can’t quite put a name to what happened between her and Chrom, though she knows assuming that it meant anything would be wishful thinking. Still, his behavior was unusual, and it’s hard  _ not _ to think along those lines. Even when she knows she isn’t going to see him at work, it’s hard for her to keep her focus, though anyone who notices writes it off as her being nervous about the assessment.

On the day of the assessment, she is one of the first to get there, to help bring in the truck before the store opens. People from other stores will be arriving just before they open, and the first round of assessments will begin. Cordelia, and the others from her store, will be part of the second round, so she has a bit of a wait.

It is one of the few days where all four managers will be working, with Frederick opening and doing truck, and with Chrom and Robin coming in just before the store opens. Since Miriel will be the closing manager, she won’t be coming in until the assessment is nearly over. She’s going to have to snap out of things, or at least pretend that Chrom isn’t around, if she’s going to make it through the day without messing something up, but she isn’t the only one who seems distracted.

Something is definitely off about Frederick, which is unusual for the man. She knows that he’s worried about today, but she would think that would make him more focused, not less. When the phone rings and he answers, she can’t help eavesdropping on his side of the conversation.

“Is this about...please, we really need all the help we can get today, so...if you’re really feeling sick, then I guess it can’t be helped, but if this is…” He never finishes his sentence, and pauses for a moment before hanging up. She can at least determine that someone has called in, but the conversation was unusual even for that.

“Who was that?” asks Sully.

“It was Lissa, she isn’t feeling well, so she called in. She was supposed to be on register, so do you think you can do that instead?” he asks.

“That puts us down one person in the stockroom,” Cordelia says to herself, deciding that she needs to work faster and try to see if they can get truck done before her turn in the assessment.

When Chrom gets there, she forces herself to focus harder on her work, not allowing herself to stare at him or get lost in daydreams today. Soon enough, he has to go with Robin and Frederick to greet those coming from other stores, so she has more time to herself to gather her thoughts. Her co-workers continue to wish her luck, still sure that she’s nervous, and the more they do that, the more she starts to feel nervous about the assessment.

Chrom has always told her that it will be easy for her, and she’s been so distracted by her feelings for him that she didn’t bother thinking about it further, but now that it’s here, she remembers that  _ this _ is what’s important to her. This is what she’s been waiting for for so long, and she has to do her best and succeed. No matter what else happens to her at work, she at least has to ensure that her career has room to grow.

Before long, it’s time, and Chrom takes her aside beforehand to wish her luck. “Listen, you probably don’t even need it, but good luck out there! It’s been a pleasure getting to help you, and I...well, I just really hope it goes well for you.”

“Thank you,” she says, refusing to allow him to make her feel nervous now. “I’ll do my best.”

As she walks away from Chrom, Frederick stops her, and, even though he still looks like something is bothering him, he smiles as he speaks to her. “You’ve impressed me from day one. Best of luck, and don’t forget everything you learned.”

“I won’t,” she assures him, and she goes in for her first interview.

~X~

It’s a long process but it feels like it goes by all too quickly. When it’s over, the managers all go to discuss scoring, and they’re taken aside one by one to go over their scores with Gangrel. He seems disinterested even as he tells Cordelia that she got an absolutely perfect score.

She walks back out in a daze, and is only interrupted by Chrom coming up to ask her what happened. Slowly, she tells him what Gangrel said, and she has to wonder if she’s dreaming when she sees the smile break out across his face, when he pulls her into a hug, going on about how he knew she could do it.

She’s fortunate that she has to go home right after that, because she isn’t sure how to handle herself from that point on.

~X~

It’s all too much excitement to take in, between being given a perfect score and being hugged by Chrom, and she finds that she’s still in a daze when she gets to work the next day. To make matters worse- better?- she’s working with Chrom, and as soon as she gets there, he calls her into the office.

“Things have been pretty slow today,” he says. “You’re just on sales floor, so there’s not much for you to do and we have some time to talk like this.”

“Is there...something you needed to talk about?”

“Well, I heard from Frederick that a few other stores are interested in you. They don’t all have something opening soon, but some of them do, and so I was just letting you know ahead of time that offers for transfers might come,” he says. “We’ve talked about this a lot before, but after you had your assessment, I know things might be different, so don’t feel pressured to stay. I don’t even know if you’re definitely going to get an offer, but, you know, just so you can be thinking about it.”

“Trust me, my decision is the same,” she says. “No matter what, I still want to stay here.”

“Even if I don’t know when you’ll have a chance to move up?”

“Are you trying to convince me not to?”

“No, you know how we all feel about you staying. I just want to make sure you understand things, and make the decision you think is best for you. Alright?”

“I want to stay here,” she repeats. “No matter what, I want to work in this store, even if it’s a while before I can get promoted. I mean, I’ve waited this long, after all.”

“Cordelia…” Chrom looks hesitant, and sighs. “This is probably going to sound like a stupid question, and it’s probably...no, it’s  _ definitely _ unprofessional, I mean... _ really _ unprofessional.”

Her blood goes cold at his words, and she wonders if he’s about to ask what she thinks he is. “What...what is it?”

“Do you...like me? I mean, not as a manager, but, you know…”

He knows. Of course he knows. She supposes she should have realized sooner that her feelings were completely and utterly obvious, but she just kept hoping that she was doing a good enough job keeping them to herself. But Chrom knows, and that’s the end of everything.

“I probably should work in another store, shouldn’t I?” she asks. “I’m sorry, I...know it’s unprofessional for me to feel this way. I probably should have requested a transfer a long time ago. As...as soon as something comes up, I can leave.”

“No, Cordelia, I...I don’t mean…you don’t have to go anywhere! Actually, don’t, please. If you don’t want to I mean, it’s just…” He groans. “I shouldn’t...we shouldn’t, but I don’t want you to go anywhere, and I…”

“Chrom, what are you saying?” 

_ Don’t hope, _ is all she tells herself.

“I don’t want you to go anywhere, because I...damn it...I like you too. Not as a manager.”

“You...what?” She’s never allowed herself to really hope for anything between them, which only makes it all the stranger when she hears him confess to returning her feelings.


	12. Chapter 12

Robin and Chrom get to work around the same time, and she gives him a smile. “Today’s the big day, huh?”   
“Sure is,” he says. “I hope we’re alright. Lissa wasn’t feeling good, so she had to call in. I’m sure Frederick is tearing his hair out by now. We should have enough coverage, but still, you know how he gets about Gangrel visiting.”

Hearing that name nearly causes her to jump, and it’s all she can do to continue to appear outwardly composed. “Yeah, I know how he is. Still, it’s not him being judged today, at least.”

“But, knowing Gangrel, he might have something to say anyway.”

~X~

_ “That was a really big mistake,” he murmurs playfully, while Robin catches her breath, laying against his chest. _

_ “I could get in so much trouble for this,” she says, both to him and to herself. _

_ “Not as much trouble as I could, of course. But you can’t honestly say you’re surprised. Wasn’t there always something going on between us?” _

_ As much as she’s always tried to ignore and deny it, or write it off as him just messing with her, she supposes she should have seen this coming. Her own feelings for him were somehow easier to hide from, up until the moment he kissed her. Now, she’s really gone and done it, and she can’t even bring herself to freak out about the fact that her district manager is in her bed. _

_ “I guess there was,” she replies. _

_ “And I guess I’m going to be seeing you outside of work again, huh?” _

_ “Maybe,” she says absentmindedly, and Gangrel laughs. _

~X~

They’ve been seeing each other for a week now, with him coming to see her on a nightly basis. Even after closing shifts, she’ll get a call on the way home and he’ll ask if he can come over, and she never turns him down. This, she knows, is going to become a problem, but being with him has become almost addictive.

So apparently she had a crush on the district manager that she managed to hide even from herself, and now that she’s finally realized it, she’s hopelessly and completely head-over-heels for him. It’s all that damn flirting, and the way he carries himself, and how not funny he is even though he thinks himself a comedic genius, and she’s sure the only reason she didn’t realize sooner is because she was trying to maintain  _ some _ decency as an employee.

Not that there’s any decency left now that they’re sleeping together, but she tries to push those thoughts out of her mind. She is well aware of the fact that they can’t go on like this forever, but he is so intent on living in the moment that she can’t help but go along with it.

“The other managers are going to be getting here soon,” says Frederick, who doesn’t seem completely there, but this feels different than his usual reaction to corporate visits. However, Robin can’t put her finger on it. “Make sure all the employees are greeting everyone,  _ especially _ Gangrel.”

Soon, he’s going to walk through the door like it’s nothing, and she’s going to politely say hello to him like she didn’t wake up with him, earlier than she usually wakes up because he had to get going to get ready for this.

~X~

_ “I guess I just like to live on the wild side,” he teases her, when she tries to bring up the fact that their affair could run both of them. _

_ “Am I really worth the risk?” she asks. _

_ “I shouldn’t even have to answer that question. What about me?” _

_ She thinks about it, and shakes her head. “I’m not sure yet.” _

_ Clutching his chest, Gangrel cries, “You’re so cold, Robin! After all we’ve been through together.” _

_ “It’s been a couple days.” _

_ He bursts out laughing and says, “I can’t get anything past you, can I?” _

_ They never really get any closer to defining what they are, nor does she come to understand why he thinks she’s so special, or worth risking the career he’s so dedicated to over. She doesn’t know why she’s doing this, or why she isn’t more concerned, but maybe she likes to live on the wild side too. _

~X~

He’s bold enough to wink at her when he comes in, and she feels her entire body grow warm. It’s too weird, seeing him here again after all the things that have changed since his last visit. Still, Robin puts on a polite, distant smile and welcomes him as if he’s barely more than a stranger. She isn’t going to have much to do until the observations start, and he’s going to be doing interviews until then.

“You and Frederick both seem out of today,” says Chrom, and she nearly jumps. Was she being that obvious? “I guess you must be nervous too, huh?”

“I’m alright,” she quickly replies, wondering if she needs to be more careful. She thought she was doing a good job pretending that everything was normal, but if Chrom’s onto her…

“You have nothing to be nervous about,” he says with a reassuring smile. “You did just fine at your own assessment, and you’re not being judged here at all. Unless you’re just nervous for our employees?”

“Yeah, I guess that’s it,” she lies. “But you’re right about me not having anything to be nervous about. I know we trained them all pretty well.”

“That’s right! Everything is going to be fine!”

~X~

_ “Have you just been praising me as a manager to try to get closer to me?” Eventually, she has to ask the most obvious question. _

_ “You think I was just buttering you up, don’t you? I can see why you would.” Shaking his head, Gangrel says, “As simple as that might make it, I was always serious about your prowess as an employee. In fact, I don’t know if I would have ended up this interested if that weren’t the case.” _

_ “Then is that the only reason you like me?” _

_ “Ye of little faith! There’s more to it than that. You’re not just sleeping with me to get a promotion, are you?” He smirks. “See, I can turn things around to make  _ you _ look bad.” _

_ “You already said you wanted to see me succeed plenty of times, so I never thought I’d have to do something like that,” she teases. _

_ “Oh? Then that means you’re genuinely interested in me!” _

_ “Haven’t we already established that?” _

_ “Perhaps, but I don’t think I’ll get tired of hearing it.” _

~X~

It’s hard not to look at him during observations. They’re both supposed to be watching the employees, but she keeps catching his eye, and whenever they make eye contact, he gives her this  _ look _ , if no one else is looking, and often everyone is too distracted to pay attention to them. She shouldn’t be allowing herself to think more... _ impure _ thoughts on the job, and so, she always breaks the eye contact and busies herself with something else.

That is, until he catches her eye again.

~X~

_ “I’ve never had a serious relationship before,” he says. _

_ “Define ‘serious’,” she replies, not asking if their relationship, whatever it may be, qualifies, or if he thinks it ever will. _

_ “Being with someone with the intention of never being with anyone else, I suppose. You can define it however you want, I’ve just never been serious about anyone before.” _

What about now?  _ She still doesn’t ask; after all, if he returns the question, she won’t have an answer. Instead, she says, “I dated some in high school, a little bit in college.” _

_ “Were you a heartbreaker?” _

_ She snorts. “Not likely.” _

_ “Then you were serious about your studies! Just like you are about work. I can admire that, that’s why you’re my favorite employee!” _

~X~

“I’ve given everyone their final scores, so anyone from other stores can go back to their own stores, or home, or wherever,” says Gangrel. “Those who work here, resume normal transmission. I’ll be out of here soon, I just have one more thing I need to attend to.”

“And what’s that?” asks Frederick, and Robin can tell that he’s internally praying it isn’t a walk of the store.

“I’d like to have a meeting with your newest manager, to discuss some things we went over last time,” he says, and he turns his attention to Robin. “Could you come to the break room with me?”

_ Is he really asking to be alone with me right now? _ The man is practically asking to get caught, but to turn him down would only make things more obvious, so she just smiles and nods and follows him. All day, there have been meetings being held in the break room behind a closed door, and a lot of employees have complained about having to go outside for their breaks. Robin did not expect to be involved in one of these meetings.

“How’ve you been today?” he asks her.

“I might have been better if you weren’t constantly staring at me,” she replies.

“I can hardly help it! But I think I was pretty subtle!”

“Maybe you were. Maybe I’m just paranoid,” she says, and there’s a pause. “So? Why did you call me back here?”

“Oh, that? I just wanted to be alone with you.”


	13. Chapter 13

Lissa doesn’t mind going to school, because there’s no chance that she’ll see Frederick there. Maribelle inquires often about her odd, distant behavior, but she never caves, saying that she doesn’t want to talk about it yet. She doesn’t know when she’ll want to talk about it, or how she’s ever going to live down the absolute humiliation, and she doesn’t know when she’s going to be able to go back to work

When her next shift grows closer, it becomes even harder to shake off the memory of accidentally confessing her feelings to Frederick in the middle of the accessory department, while he was in the middle of lecturing her. Of all the stupid things for her to do! She has no choice but to call in again, and she’s glad that Miriel is the one who takes her call this time, so that she doesn’t have to actually talk to Frederick.

This is no way to live, and she knows that, but she can’t think of anything else to do. She can’t face him now, knowing that he’s going to reject her- and surely he’s going to reject her, since he made no real effort to catch her before she left. If he had any sort of feelings for her, he would have gotten to her before she got away, or said something before she ever ran. Besides, she isn’t so stupid that she thinks he could possibly like her after he got so mad at her for helping.

He was never going to like her, and there was no point in trying so hard. She should probably just go ahead and quit, since she can’t show her face there ever again, but to quit requires turning in her notice, and she hasn’t figured out how she’s going to do that without showing her face there.

So, for the time being, she’s hiding out, doing what she can to pretend to be sick whenever Chrom’s around. Of course, her brother doesn’t fall for it for long, and after she calls in the second time, he comes to her to ask her what’s going on.

“I’m just sick,” she insists, no matter how he pesters her.

“Okay, maybe you’re sick,” he says, not looking like he believes her. “Frederick asked about you. I think he misses you.”

“So? That doesn’t mean I’m going back…” she mutters.

“Did something happen between you two? He’s not been himself lately either, so…”

“Yeah, so what?” She scowls. “You’ve been acting weird too.”

“Huh? How so?” He looks so guilty that she almost laughs.

“For the past couple days, you’ve just seemed out it. Maybe a little too happy? Did something happen?” She’s mostly just trying to redirect the subject, but she has noticed something off about Chrom even as she’s been focused on her own problem.

“It’s nothing,” he says, and even though she knows he’s lying, she isn’t able to get him to give her a decent answer.”

~X~

_ “I like you,” Chrom repeats. _

_ “You don’t...really mean that?” Cordelia is so stunned that she can barely speak. After all the time she’s spent believing that her interest in him could never be anything but unrequited, she can’t help but question him. None of this seems real. _

_ “But I do.” He sighs and his shoulders sag. “I kind of noticed that you did a while ago, but I didn’t want to just assume, but then...I started thinking about what it would be like to be with you, even though I knew that was super unprofessional. At some point, I realized that I liked you, and I’m telling you now even though I probably shouldn’t.” _

_ “But why would you ever like me?” She still can’t believe it, even hearing it from him. _

_ “Do I have to repeat everything I’ve already said, or can you assume all the compliments up until now were completely genuine?” He cracks a smile and she can’t help smiling back. “It’s all that, and how beautiful and kind and helpful you are. I like being around you, and you make work not feel like work. I know that probably sound really cheesy, but…” _

_ “No, I...I feel the same way. You always make me excited to come to work,” she confesses. “It’s true that you were always most of the reason I wanted to stay at this location.” _

_ “I’m really happy to hear that. I...know that I should put a stop to this, or that one of us should transfer, or something, but...do you want to be with me?” he asks. “Do you want to just try things out, and see how it goes? Frederick would probably kill me if he knew, but I’d like to at least try.” _

_ “I do,” she says. “I want to try too.” _

_ “I’m not going to work here forever, and I wouldn’t want to ask you to transfer or put your career on hold before we even know what’s going to happen between us.” _

_ “I won’t tell if you won’t,” she says, and it may be the first time in her life that she’s completely thrown caution to the wind. _

~X~

When the phone rings, Robin is sitting in the office, so she picks it up and answers. “Thank you for calling, how may I direct your call?”

“Professional as always,” a familiar voice says. It’s the first time Gangrel’s called her on the job since the day they set up their dinner, and it’s been a few days since he’s seen her. They’ve both been busy, so they’ve cooled things off a little, and she’s excited to hear from him, but she doesn’t let that slip into her voice.

“But this _ isn’t _ professional,” she says. “You can’t go back to calling me while I’m working now that we’re...you know.”

“I only wanted to talk to you, and if I called your cell phone, you wouldn’t answer.”

“Because I’m not supposed to take personal calls on the job. You know that.” She sighs. “This is a good way to get us caught, you know?”

“So then what am I supposed to do?”

“We can’t keep doing this.” She doesn’t really know what she’s implying as she says it. “We could both lose our jobs over this, and you’re supposed to be the CEO one day, right?”

“CE-owner,” he corrects her.

“Yeah, that. Even if we’re secretive, if this keeps going on...I don’t know that it’s worth the risk. We can’t continue like this and both work here.”

Gangrel is silent for a long moment, and Robin feels guilty for saying anything. She hasn’t been with him for very long, but she’s been  _ happy _ . It’s been a while since she’s thought about what she wants outside of work, and it’s been a while since she’s had something worthwhile to come home to. She doesn’t want to break up already, when she gets the feeling that this could last a long time, if they let it, but she knows that they can’t continue like this.

“How married to this job are you? And I mean this job in particular.”

“I...don’t know.”

“I’m not saying you have to do anything, but...if you had the chance to work the same position, or higher, with the same pay or higher, at another, do you think you would take it?”

That’s something she isn’t sure about, not without giving it serious thought. On the one hand, a job is a job, and if it were a  _ better _ opportunity, it would be silly not to take it. But, on the other hand, she likes where she is now because of the people, and it would be sad to leave them. Not to mention the fact that she isn’t sure if she should base her job around a relationship, even if it’s one that she really wants to last.

“I really don’t know. I’m sorry,” she says.

“It’s just something to think about, is all. We don’t have to talk about it right now. You can get back to work if you need to.”

“Alright, I’ll talk to you later.”

“Tonight?” She can practically hear the smile coming back into his voice. “In person?”

“I’ll see you then,” she replies.

~X~

Lissa is home alone when the doorbell rings, and when she answers it, Frederick is standing on her porch, looking incredibly uncomfortable.


	14. Chapter 14

Lissa almost closes the door in his face in her panic, but she manages to compose herself just enough to say, “What are you doing here?”

“Lissa, may I come in?”

“What are you doing here?”

“I...think you know what I’m here to talk about. I asked Chrom if it would be alright for me to stop by- I didn’t tell him anything, I just said I wanted to check up on you, since you were feeling sick. He said that it would be fine, so can you please let me in?”

After trying so hard to avoid this, now there’s nothing she can do to get out of talking to him, unless she really  _ does _ slam the door in his face. But she doesn’t, and instead steps back to allow him in her house. If she’s going to get rejected, she might as well just go ahead and get it over with now, rather than dragging it out. Really, she always knew she wasn’t going to be able to avoid this forever.

“Can we be quick about this?” she asks.

“You’re not really sick, are you?”

“What do you care?”

“I do worry about you.”

“Fine, whatever. You know I’m not.”

Sighing, Frederic says, “I really don’t want this to be difficult…”

“Then just come out and say it!” Now she’s getting frustrated. “Just go ahead and tell me to keep dreaming, and I’ll give you my notice, and we never have to see each other again!”

“But I don’t  _ want _ to tell you that.”

“You don’t have to go easy on me. It’s going to hurt either way, and trust me, I can take it.”

“It’s isn’t about going easy on you. Lissa, I…” Again, he sighs. “I’m your boss. And I’m your brother’s friend, and a friend of the family, and I’m older than you, and I really shouldn’t feel the way I do about you.”

“And...how do you feel…?” Is he saying what she thinks he is? After building herself up for rejection and getting so defensive, this is enough to knock her completely off balance.

“I think that’s a little obvious now…”

“It’s never been obvious, so can you please just tell?”

“I...I do like you too. It’s kind of taking me by surprise. I’ve never really thought of an employee as anything more than an employee. Even your brother, it was easy for me to separate between work and our friendship, but with you...it’s been very hard to think about you professionally.”

“Frederick…” she breathes. “You mean that?”

He nods. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you, and what I was going to tell you. I really should reject you, but...I don’t want to. I can’t date my employee, but I really want to.”

“It’s going to be the end of the semester soon,” she says. “I’m sure I won’t be able to keep working when finals get closer. What if I quit then?”

“Don’t you enjoy your job?”

“Sure I do, but it’s not going to be my job forever, and I don’t want to just...miss out on something because of that.”

“Even so, dating in the meantime…” He shakes his head. “We can worry about that later. More importantly, what about age? You’re still in college, you’re still young, wouldn’t it be strange for us?”

“Would it? I mean, we haven’t had any trouble talking before,” she says. It’s only just now starting to sink in that this is real, that Frederick returns her feelings, and she’s surprised that she’s able to keep a cool enough head to talk this out with him.

“And what about your brother?”

“What about him? I’m younger than you, but I’m still an adult. Plus, I dunno...I feel like Chrom would approve.”

“You say that, but you  _ are _ his little sister.”

“If you really do like me, I’m not letting this go,” she says. “As long as I have a chance with you, I’m going to keep it up, so you might as well just say yes now.”

“I’m...going to make sure we aren’t scheduled to work many shifts together,” is all that he says, and Lissa responds by  _ finally _ kissing him. He doesn’t put up any resistance.

~X~

When she works with Chrom, she has to pretend like nothing has changed between them, and that’s difficult for Cordelia, when so much  _ has _ changed. They had a good time on their first date, though at first they kept talking about work, and the awkwardness only dissolved once they began laughing about that fact. But now that they’re back at work, in the store at the same time, she has to try to temporarily forget the Chrom she shared dinner with.

“Cordelia, could you cover Ricken’s break?” he asks her, and she’s glad to see that he’s looking somewhere off to the side of her, seeming just as nervous about all of this.

“Of course,” she replies, hoping that her voice doesn’t shake, and that no one notices that her face is flushed.

This is definitely going to take some getting used to.

~X~

“If you could work in any sort of store, what kind would you pick?” asks Gangrel.

“I’m supposed to say discount store, aren’t I?” replies Robin, in a teasing tone of voice.

“Not this time, unless that’s your real, final answer. You’re telling me this as my girlfriend, not my employee.” He says ‘girlfriend’ so casually, despite the two of them never formally discussing that that’s what she is now, and it takes her a moment to think of her actual answer.

“I always thought big department stores seemed interesting. The chain of command is different, I know, but there are a lot of different opportunities, and chances to change what you do,” she finally says.

“That’s convenient.”

“What do you mean?”

“Would you be mad if I said I had been...looking for a solution to our situation?”

“You’ve been looking for a new job for me?”

“Are you mad?”

“I’m not,” she says, and she isn’t. She’s done a lot of thinking about all of this, and she’s willing to hear him out.

“I found an opening at just that kind of store. It’s not far from your current job, so the commute wouldn’t change, and you’d not only be starting as a manager, but you’d be starting a bit higher. If it was your store, you’d be about equal to Chrom, and you’d be getting a raise.” He watches her attentively for a reaction. “Does that interest you at all?”

To her, it all sounds too good to be true, but she doubts Gangrel would lie about something like this. “Do you really think I could get hired in at a higher position?”

“With the right kind of recommendation, you could, and I know Frederick would write you a stellar one. As long as they don’t know how close we are, I could write you a pretty good review as well, and it would be completely unbiased!” He grins and says, “You don’t have to go for it if you want to stay here, but I thought it would be easier to decide what to do if you knew exactly what your options were.”

“I…I want to go for it.” It’s too quick to make a decision like that, and yet the words are out of her mouth before she even thinks about it. She does want to go for it, because, if it plays out perfectly, then she’ll still have a good job with lots of opportunities, and she can continue to see Gangrel without worrying about what may happen if they get caught.

“Really? You’re going to change jobs just like that?” he asks. “You’re doing that just for me?” He says it playfully, but she can see the genuine excitement in his eyes.

“I wouldn’t say that,” she teases. “Honestly, I’ve just got big goals. Maybe you’ve inspired me, maybe I want to be a ‘CE-owner’ too, and I know if I was competing with you, you’d just fight dirty.”

Laughing, he says, “You know I would never go easy on you. So, is that the only reason?”

Robin shakes her head. “I want to see where this goes, alright? I don’t want to quit seeing you already.”

She half expects him to reply with some quip, with more teasing, but instead, his faces softens and he tells her how happy he is to hear that.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's mcfreaking over

Eventually, Cordelia starts to feel like she and Chrom are doing a pretty good job of acting like nothing is different. They’re still awkward, but they’re making progress, and that’s all that matters. Things are entirely different when they aren’t at work, when they’re out together, and she’s getting so comfortable around him that it’s getting hard to imagine a time when she could barely talk to him without getting nervous.

Things have changed so much since she first transferred to his store, but she’s happier than she can possibly hope to express that things have worked out this well. They still have to be careful to make sure no one finds out, but she doesn’t think they have much to worry about in that department.

Until Frederick calls her into the office one day and asks, “What’s going on between you and Chrom?”

“I...I-I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“You’re pretty obvious, you know? I don’t know if anyone else has caught on, but I can tell there’s  _ something _ .”

In her panic, she says, “Fire me, okay? If anyone...if anyone is getting in trouble, let it be me. It’s all my fault, so don’t…”

But then she sees that Frederick is smiling. “I’m not going to fire anyone.”

“You’re...not?” He’s always seemed so by-the-book that this is more than a bit surprising to her.

“Please just keep things on the down low. The two of you have always been very good workers, and very professional. As long as it doesn’t get in the way of you work, I won’t say anything.”

“I really appreciate it, but...why? This doesn’t really seem like you.”

“I’m sure it doesn’t.” Frederick shakes his head. “I’ve been doing a lot of things that don’t seem like me lately. Listen, this is just between us, but...I’m dating his sister.”

“Lissa?” Her eyes widen, and suddenly, the strange behavior of the two begins to make a lot of sense to her. Still, she never would have expected  _ Frederick _ to go out with an employee.

“Yes,” he replies. “So it would be a bit hypocritical of me to scold you both, when I’m fairly guilty myself. Not to mention the fact that it’s his little sister...I was hoping, if I went easy on him over this, then he might go easier on me.”

Cordelia can’t help but laugh to herself, and she says, “Well, I wish you the best of luck.”

~X~

Chrom comes to her later, asking if Frederick met with her, and when he tells her about Lissa, she pretends to be surprised. Her boyfriend shakes his head, saying that he just isn’t sure what to think about any of this, and it’s very hard not to laugh.

~X~

As for Lissa, she thinks the whole thing is hilarious. “You really said that?” she asks, when he recaps his conversation with Cordelia. “You can’t honestly be that scared of Chrom?”

“Well, if you were  _ my _ little sister, then I would-”

“Don’t finish that sentence, because that’s way too weird,” she interrupts. “I can’t believe my brother and Cordelia are going out. I mean, now that I think about it, she probably had a crush on him all along, and I know he’s been acting weird for a while, but I still can’t believe that’s it! I guess being really unprofessional runs in the family, or something…”

“Maybe it does,” he replies. “But you’ve got finals soon, and you’ll be turning in your notice. We won’t be risking anything for too much longer.”

“I bet you’ll breathe a lot easier then!”

“I probably will,” he agrees, and Lissa grins up at him.

“You’re happy, aren’t you?” she asks. “You’re glad that this happened?”   
“It’s not what I ever expected, I’ll be honest, but I’m really happy with it.”

“Well, that’s good to hear, since I  _ finally _ got to be with my first love.” She says it casually, and Frederick’s mouth falls open uselessly for a moment, before he’s actually able to speak.

“Your...what?”   
“Didn’t you ever notice? I had  _ such _ a big crush on you when I was kid! Getting to be with you now is kinda like achieving a lifelong dream!”

Once again, she’s given Frederick a lot to think about, but she’s not running away this time.

~X~

Robin explains to everyone that she’ll be leaving, after she turns in her notice and explains things to Frederick. A lot of people are sad to hear that she’s going, but she’s mostly met with support all around, and good wishes for her furthering her career. Later, Chrom wants to talk to her alone, still surprised by the news.

“Aren’t you happy here?” he asks. “I mean, I’m happy for you, that you got such a good job and everything, but…”

“I am happy here,” she says. “It’s been a great experience working here, but I think this new job is going to be a really great opportunity. There’s a lot of room for me to grow within the company.”

“I’m really glad to hear that, but...I bet you could have moved up pretty easily here. I mean, Gangrel seemed to take a liking to you, so I bet, with time, he could have gotten you a lot of promotions.”

“I thought so too, at first,” she says, with a small smile. “But that was before we started sleeping together. Now, he has too much of a bias.”

From the looks of it, she doesn’t think Chrom is going to be able to get his jaw off the floor for quite some time.

~X~

Gangrel is over more and more often now that they feel like they have nothing to hide, and he thinks the story of Chrom’s reaction is the funniest thing he’s ever heard. “I wish I could have been there to see his face! But...you are sure that he won’t say anything, aren’t you?”

“He’s one of my closest friends, so I trust him.” She doesn’t mention her suspicions about his relationship with Cordelia, since she doesn’t want to make Gangrel suspicious about it.

“Well, then, that’s good enough for me. Now that you’ve got a new job and now that we can actually, openly go out with each other, I want to take you somewhere really nice! To celebrate!”

“We don’t have to do anything fancy,” she says.

“But I insist,” he replies. “For my favorite future business rival.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the story is over but it isn't  
> I'm still planning on writing like a chapter 12.5 that's Gangrel and Robin getting it on in the breakroom, I left it out of this story cos I didn't want to up the rating, but it'll be a oneshot I'll probably be writing soon.  
> Also there may be a sequel someday? who knows????


End file.
